Tag: 2022 Week 17

WATCH: Prescott, Schultz kick off second half with TD

After a first half to forget, the Cowboys exploited the young Texans secondary and marched down for a Dalton Schultz touchdown. | From @cdburnett7

The first half for Dallas was one of their ugliest of the year for a multitude of reasons. A pair of drops on both sides of the ball with heavy impacted alongside an ill-advised interception from quarterback Dak Prescott made it a close game at half. Heading into the playoffs, the Cowboys have to clean up their play and the second half in Tennessee was their first opportunity to do so.

Kellen Moore continued the first-down runs, which prompted Prescott to force some throws on third down. A pair of defensive pass interference penalties bailed out an otherwise disappointing drive and Dallas delivered a necessary touchdown with Prescott finding tight end Dalton Schultz wide open for a score.

In a game where the Titans practically surrendered with so many players out, the Cowboys have looked mediocre often but a four-minute touchdown drive is a good response to start the second half.

WATCH: Fowler strip sack deletes Titans splash play for Cowboys defense

Right after a big Titans gain, the Dallas pass rush closed in on Dobbs and forced a takeaway to silence a promising drive. | From @CDBurnett7

While the Cowboys offense got off to an iffy start in Nashville, the defense came to play for Dallas. Over the last two weeks, Dan Quinn’s unit allowed an average of 37 points but the Titans presented an opportunity to regain confidence,

After a pair of quick stops, Tennessee delivered their first big blow on a 39-yard pass to Racey McMath. This turned out to be all for naught when defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. crushed Josh Dobbs and forced a fumble, which linebacker Micah Parsons was waiting to dive on.

While they’ve surrendered too many points at times, the Cowboys defense continues to rely on a strong pass rush and takeaways, which came together to silence a promising Tennessee drive. Following the recovery, Dallas took over with a chance to extend their lead but a mistake on the snap gave the Titans possession right back.

WATCH: Elliott extends TD streak to 9 games, gives Cowboys early lead

Dallas marched down for an early lead in Nashville and Elliott extended his touchdown streak, barreling into the endzone yet again. | From @CDBurnett7

In their icey-white uniforms, the Cowboys first offensive drive froze after a heavy dosage of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. The Josh Dobbs-led Titans offense had no answer after the slow start from Dallas and quarterback Dak Prescott got back to work.

Prescott kicked off the second drive with a pair of throws to tight end Dalton Schultz for 22 yards before a big third down approached. A week after his coming-out party, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton flashed for a conversion, wide open near the sideline. Alongside the timely completions, running back Ezekiel Elliott did what he does best, driving through the pile into the endzone to take an early 7-0 lead in Nashville.

Elliott has scored a touchdown in nine straight games and he’s up to 12 on the season. Dallas flushed out the first drive and marched down against an undermanned Titans defense for a touchdown lead.

Tony Pollard, Derrick Henry sit out Cowboys-Titans as Week 17 inactives announced

The Cowboys will be without their home-run threat while the Titans are giving their team a rest ahead of their season-defining Week 18. | From @cdBurnett7

With two games left to play, the Cowboys and Titans are taking vastly different approaches for their penultimate regular season game. While Dallas is likely locked into the No. 5 seed barring two losses from the Eagles, they’re keeping their starters on the field. For Tennessee it’s a different story. Their season comes down to their Week 18 bout with the Jaguars so they’re benching a majority of their starters before they head to Jacksonville.

The Cowboys are being cautious with running back Tony Pollard, who has a thigh bruise and shouldn’t be needed to defeat the Titans’ backups. Linebacker Leighton Vander-Esch is nearing his return after a stinger set him back while defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins is still a ways away before he can bring a big boost to the Dallas run defense.

Tennessee is rolling out without their star running back Derrick Henry and a majority of other key players that were dealing with nagging injuries or needed extra rest. Rookie quarterback Malik Willis is even getting a week off, while practice squad quarterback Josh Dobbs got the call to start in Nashville. Take a look at the full list of inactives for Cowboys-Titans.

Advanced Stats: Cowboys dominate on paper, look to cap December with win over Titans

The Titans enter Week 17 with a losing streak and a ton of players sitting out, making the case advanced stats may be too generous. | From @ProfessorO_NFL

The Dallas Cowboys enter Week 17 with an 11-4 record on the heels of a Christmas Eve win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys have won three of their first four games in December and will look for their fourth victory of the month on the road against the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans are 7-8 on the season so far and have had a brutal December, losing all four games they’ve played this month and are on a five-game losing streak. The Titans are opting to rest players in this matchup, as they prepare for a Week 18 showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars with the division title up for grabs. That includes rookie QB Malik Willis, who will sit in favor of Josh Dobbs.

Each week we open up the Advanced Stat Notebook to analyze how each team ranks in EPA, DVOA, ANY/A and Toxic Differential. These four key metrics have a high correlation to win probability.

Cowboys 55-man roster vs Tennessee Titans in Week 17

A look at the Cowboys expanded roster against a Tennessee team that won’t much resemble what they normally do. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have set their game-day roster for their Week 17 matchup with the Tennessee Titans. The matchup looks much different than anticipated when the schedules were released. Many though Dallas would be hovering around .500 while the Titans ran away with the AFC South. But Dallas sits at 12-4 on the season and the Titans have lost five in a row and fallen out of first place at 7-8.

That record is tied with Jacksonville, the team Tennessee will meet up with in Week 18 for the division crown. The fact this game makes no difference to Tennessee’s playoffs hopes has them playing it cautious, sitting at least eight players and likely more. Not only that, but they will start third stringer Josh Dobbs instead of Malik Willis at quarterback. Dallas meanwhile will be without Pro Bowl running back Tony Pollard, fueling the need for one of their two practice squad callups. Qadree Ollison will be the third-string backup behind Ezekiel Elliott and UDFA Malik Davis, who should see extensive action. Here’s a look at the 55 players Dallas will choose from to be active.

Cowboys-Titans Week 17 TV coverage, uniform combos, how to stream, wager

Here’s how to watch (you’re going to need help) and listen, what the current odds are and how to recognize your Cowboys on Thursday. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys are breaking out the icy whites for their winter trip to Tennessee. Week 17 brings them their fifth and final matchup against an AFC foe for the 2022 season. After defeating the Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, Dallas fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars and will now look to finish their inter-conference schedule on a high note.

To do so, they will have to overcome a bunch of players looking to make the most of their opportunity, as at least 8 and possibly as many as 11 Titans will sit this one out. That doesn’t mean this game is without an opportunity to gauge progress for the Cowboys, as dual-threat QBs have given them problems. Despite his inability to pass thus far, rookie QB Malik Willis does present such a threat to help warm Dallas up for a rematch against Jalen Hurts.

Will you be able to watch the Cowboys’ efforts to put a beat down on display Thursday? Here’s how to watch, stream, wager on the action, as well as a sneak preview of the Cowboys’ new helmets and icy white uniforms.

Resting starters, Titans still present Cowboys good warmup with Malik Willis

The Cowboys defense struggles against mobile quarterbacks making Willis and the Titans a perfect opponent to grow from. | From @ReidDHanson

If there’s one problem the Cowboys have yet to even remotely solve, it’s how to stop a running quarterback. From Daniel Jones to Jalen Hurts, to Justin Fields, dual-threat quarterbacks have had their way with the Dallas defense.

With a possible postseason showdown with the run-happy Hurts looming on the not-too-distant horizon, the time to figure it out is dwindling and Malik Willis and the Tennessee Titans may just be the perfect opponent to learn from.

Stopping a two-way quarterback is clearly easier said than done. Whether it’s a called run, a run option, or simply an improvised scramble, QB runs have the ability to tip the balance of a game.

Elite postseason teams like the Bills with Josh Allen, Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes, and Eagles with Hurts all feature a QB running component in their attack, so if the Cowboys hope to enjoy the ultimate postseason success this season, it’s imperative they get a handle on mobile quarterbacks.

Week 17 Injury Report: 8 Titans out and Henry doubtful, Cowboys’ Parsons questionable

The final injury report ahead of TNF in Week 17 and the Cowboys are not going to be facing the full compliment of Titans. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Tennessee Titans are going to be shorthanded on Thursday night, and in a big way. In the final Week 17 injury report, the Cowboys’ opponent has ruled out seven starters, five of them on defense including 3/4th of their linebacker corps. In addition, their lone offensive weapon, RB Derrick Henry, is doubtful to play.

Dallas will be facing the B squad, especially if the three doubtful players can’t go. Teams are allowed to have 48 active players but even with two practice squad callups, 11 players sitting would give the Titans a maximum of 44 players available. Meanwhile for Dallas, they’ve ruled out linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and could be without stars Micah Parsons and Tony Pollard. Aside from those three and the ones on IR, everyone else is expected to play.

Vander Esch has begun his rehab work doing cord drills, so there’s hope the middle linebacker will be back for the playoffs in a couple weeks. There’s also hope that IRd DT Johnathan Hankins will be activated for the wild-card game as well. Here’s a look at the full injury report from both teams.

5 statistical milestones for Cowboys players in Week 17 vs Titans

A look at some of the statistical achievements possible for Cowboys players when they suit up on Thursday night against the Titans. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys are more than likely going to end up as the NFC’s five seed when it’s all said and done. There’s an inside straight flush possibility of them winning the division, but it will take a bit of a Christmas miracle to occur. It doesn’t appear that head coach Mike McCarthy will be looking to rest players early, in anticipation of a wild-card road game, instead looking to establish a positive performance baseline.

So with healthy starters all expected to play in the Week 17 matchup with the Tennessee Titans, there’s a chance for some statistical glory for individual players. Here’s a look at five milestones that can be attained on Thursday night.